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This month we review the freshman CD
by Rev. R. L. Bush & The
New Swansilvertones.
Although, this is the groups first CD, members of the group are not new to the
gospel music industry. Therefore, the group presents a CD that truly
sounds like it is from seasoned singers. The name of the CD is Live
& Up Close. It is on the Godson Records' label.
The recording occurred at New Birth Christian Center, Savannah, Georgia, on July
30, 2006. The members of the group for this recording were Rev. R. L.
Bush, Rev. Scheron Womack, Rev. Eddie Houston, Rev. Lorenzo Rideout, and Rev.
Ricky Mathews. Many will remember Rev. Bush from
The Flint Cavaliers.
He has also sung with Doc
McKenzie and The Gospel Hi-Lites
and
The Jackson Southernaires.
There are thirteen (13) songs on this live recording. This CD is full of
nothing but traditional gospel quartet music. It begins with the upbeat "God
Got Away." This song should get much airplay. The guys
really put a lot of energy into this song. The background harmony is
tight. From there the group moves into a great ballad, "My Precious King.
Listen careful to the words to this song. This song will certainly minister to
you. At times, it seems that Rev. Bush is ready to launch into his
preaching mode. This song is easy on the ear, but is sure to have a
lasting impact on the heart of the listener.
The next track, Little Wooden Church, has that down home feel
to it. It is the same song recorded years ago by
The Gospel Keynotes.
However, this is certainly not the
Keynotes
arrangement. Rev. Bush and the guys have slowed the tempo. This one
will have you rocking from side to side. What an awesome arrangement.
Whatever You Need represents the introduction of the smooth
harmony of the background singers. The background harmony just gets better
with each song thereafter. Rev. Bush shares lead duties on Touch
Like That; which, by the way, is another wonderful ballad. Testimony,
is in the form of a sermonette. And, it leads into Where you going
Mary.
The next three (3) tracks are You can't make it to Heaven,
Only Believe, and At the Cross. Only Believe"
is introduced as a tribute to
The Swan Silvertones.
The song does have an earlier generation feel to it.
The song that is getting most of the
airplay is Super Man. Rev. Bush has taken the concept of the
comic script character and turned it into a very thought provoking song.
Young people will like this song. The last two (2) tracks on the project
or Full Time God and The Blood.
This is a good recording. The drawback to the recording is the lack of
audience participation. Although, this is a live recording, you will be
hard press to find any significant audience participation on any of the songs.
The other disappointment about Live and Up Close is that there is
no video of the recording. In spite of the lack of a video and the lack of
meaningful audience participation, this project still deserves to be in your
collection.
With their freshman CD being this
good, one can only imagine how great
The New Swan Silvertones'
sophomore project will be. We give
Rev. R. L. Bush & The New
Swansilvertones' Live and
Up Close
an 8.75 out of 10. To
purchase this CD click on
Live and Up Close. Click on the title to hear Super
Man."
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